Photo: Simon Blackley

A guy walks into a mechanic and asks for a tune-up.

“Looks like your car needs a lot of work,” says the mechanic. “After a quick inspection, I estimate about $1000 worth of services.”

It may sound like a joke, but car owners are often hit with an unhappy diagnosis like this. Many of us have little-to-no car expertise. We feel helpless at the sometimes-merciless hand of our mechanic. After all, who are we to say when a spark plug needs changing or steering should be flushed?

Jon Bartunek, owner of his family’s Union Street Garage in San Francisco who has worked in the car repair business since he was ten years old, has some empowering tips and guidelines to offer.

“Many car repair shops are in the business of selling auto repair, not the business of repairing autos,” says Bartunek. “Keep in mind that any good shop is a combination of both, but you want the mechanic you work with to have your best interest in mind.”

Read on to find Bartunek’s words of wisdom to help you through the car maintenance and repair process without spending an unnecessary, exorbitant amount of money. Bartunek shares his knowledge on how to be informed before and after service, the common traps car repair shops will use to get more money from you, and what you absolutely must require of any mechanic who performs work on your car.

A reputable mechanic should provide:

ASE [National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence] or AAA [American Automobile Association] certification, and/or a state license, which is required in many states

• A clean garage, free of empty cans, dirty rags, and old tires
• A friendly, polite staff that communicates well
• Before service: an itemized bill with a written estimate for repair work
• After service: a detailed invoice of work done and parts supplied

How to approach a new mechanic

Get a recommendation. Ask someone with a similar income level and car type if they have a good relationship with their mechanic. Don’t ask a friend who has a car or lifestyle that’s very different from yours because they may work with someone who’s not suitable for you.

Use the owner’s manual. This manual is your most valuable defense tool when visiting the mechanic. You should never, ever walk into a mechanic like the guy in our opening example and say, “I need a tune up.” This is way too vague and your professional may see this as an open invitation to charge you up to $1000 for miscellaneous unnecessary services such as spark plug replacements when you don’t need them. Bartunek advises, “Cars don’t need tune ups like they did years ago. Go by the services in your owner’s manual. Most list the necessary services according to the mileage you have on your car. Just saying something as simple as ‘I need my 30,000 mile service,’ shows your mechanic you are informed and not someone he can easily take advantage of if he is so inclined.”

Get an estimate. Before service, make sure your prospective mechanic gives you a detailed parts-and-labor estimate so you’ll know exactly what he plans to do and what went wrong if you have a post-service failure. Never accept a verbal estimate or a sheet of paper that says something unspecific like, “Fix Car – $800.” Make sure you sign the itemized estimate and walk away with a signed copy.

Ask questions. Never be afraid of asking questions such as “Do I really need that?” or “I don’t see any symptoms of failure. Is work on that part absolutely necessary right now?” If your mechanic makes a generalization like, “The part is old,” ask for details. Find out if it’s leaking, losing pressure or what the specific problem is. Then ask to see the part. A good mechanic should be able to physically show you the problem with the part on your car or explain it to you by using a removed car part. Similarly, if the price quote sounds expensive, tell the mechanic what you were hoping to spend and ask him if you can get by safely with a less expensive job.

Finally, if you think the job sounds expensive and your car seems to be working fine, get a second opinion.

Common traps

Drastic statements like, “We need to tow your car out of here because we don’t want to be responsible for you driving it,” are almost always a scam. Bartunek has seen many car owners succumb to these warnings and end up paying an arm and a leg to get their car back from the mechanic in “driveable” condition. He advises, “If you drove your car into the mechanic with no issues, most likely you can drive it away from any threatening advice without any problems.”

Coolant and power steering flushes are common services some of the larger mechanic chains will propose in order to make money. Check your owner’s manual to see how long your fluid is supposed to last so you know if your mechanic’s suggestion is warranted.

Do your research before having a catalytic converter or other emissions part repaired. Some of these pieces have a very long factory warranty including free replacement of covered parts.

A muffler that lasts a lifetime does not exist. Many of the larger companies give you free replacements and make their money on expensive exhaust system repairs.

The $55 brake pad job is also a scam nine times out of ten. No shop can make money on a $55 dollar brake pad replacement job. It’s an excuse to suggest the replacement of other parts such as brake rotors when you don’t need them.

Keep up on car maintenance

In addition to being a savvy buyer of proposed services, it’s important to keep up on regular car maintenance to avoid unnecessary breakdowns or repair costs. Here are Bartunek’s suggestions:

Get regular fluid changes as per your owner’s manual. This includes oil as well as brake, windshield and coolant fluids.

Replace the air filter when needed or suggested in the owner’s manual.

Keep tires inflated properly for your safety. Check once a month and before long car trips to make sure your tires have a little bit less than maximum pressure.

While all these warnings and rules may be overwhelming at first, there are some great mechanics out there. If you remember these tips, you’re much more likely to find a helpful professional than a wallet-draining scam.

New! Compare Auto Insurance with Mint.com.

Low-flush toilets

(Ben Sutherland)

Long a favorite of the frugal, low-flow toilets are a must have for anyone truly serious about savings. According to MotherEarthNews.com, low-flow toilets, “…save the average U.S. household (2.64 people) about 25 gallons of water per day, or more than 9,000 gallons per year.” Typically, a low-flush toilet uses about 6 liters (1.6 gallons) per flush as opposed to the 13 liters used by conventional models. In the average home that cycles through ten or twenty flushes per day, it’s not surprising to see a device that uses half the water for each flush amounting to savings by the end of each month.

Filtered water bottles

(TSK Design)

Americans drink more bottled water today than ever before, with many people purchasing dozens of bottles at a time to consume throughout the week. Those bottles add up awfully fast to a giant sinkhole in the food budget ; one way to drink the same amount of water and spend far less is using a filtered water bottle. Just fill up from any ordinary faucet and the bottle’s internal filter zaps any bacteria lurking inside. The more often you use it, the faster it pays for itself and the more money you save.

Coin sorters

(Roger@Elaws)

Pocket change hoarders face an inevitable dilemma – devote an entire afternoon to tediously hand-wrapping the change they’ve been dumping into coffee jars for the last year, or let Coinstar do it and lose 10% of the money. Luckily, coin sorting machines offer an appealing third route. Simply buy coin rolls and let the machine wrap your change for you. If it turns out you saved $100 in change, using the coin machine lets you keep the $10 you would’ve paid Coinstar. Over several uses, the machine pays for itself and then some.

Electricity usage monitor

(TristanF)

Contrary to popular belief, your TV, XBox or laptop doesn’t just suck juice when they’re on. Simply having them plugged in pumps current through the wires, and over the course of a year, the extra cost of paying for that is not negligible. For those who need this quantified with exact numbers, the electricity usage monitor is ideal. Just plug any device into it and you’ll discover what that device’s “phantom load” is while off and plugged in. You can even go around the house with it, figuring out the total electricity usage of every gadget and gizmo you own.

High-efficiency power supply

(Audin)

Electricity usage monitors are great for measuring the juice your devices suck down, but it still presses upon you the responsibility for taking corrective action. That’s where the high-efficiency power supply comes in. In addition to protecting your valuable equipment from storm surges, high-efficiency power supplies actually regulate the electricity flowing to your devices so as to ensure that they use the least amount required to run. Laptops, for instance, have energy-saving modes which use less power to function. With a high-efficiency power supply, you can rest assured that every gadget it powers is running with as little juice as possible.

High-efficiency washing machines

(Mark Hillary)

One of the biggest energy expenses in the typical home is washing and drying clothes. Powering a big machine that soaks and spins dirty clothes is costly no matter how you slice it, but how efficient your washer is can make a huge difference. That’s why it pays to invest in a high efficiency model rather than the bargain basement clunker that saves a few hundred dollars up front. If the better machine saves even $10 per month by using less water, it should pay for itself twice over inside of five years.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs

(Dano)

Of all the hyped-up money saving inventions out there, compact fluorescent bulbs are truly worthy of acclaim. Said to save $100 or more per year, CFL’s pay for themselves in spades as you substitute them for the old, energy-sucking bulbs you currently have. For those eager to quantify the savings they themselves could receive, free online tools like GE’s Smart CFL Savings Calculator will let you punch in the numbers and see exactly how much money you are leaving on the table without switching.

Programmable thermostats

(Kevin Marsh)

Gone are the days of simply “turning on the heat” (or air conditioning) and letting it indiscriminately bleed your wallet to make the house comfortable. With programmable thermostats, homeowners can precisely specify the exact times at which heating or air conditioning should run, and at which temperatures. Practically speaking, this allows one to specify that nothing should be running when everyone in the home is away at work or school. Just set it once and forget about it forever.

Efficient shower heads

(Steven Depolo)

Now, we concede that some people are just not willing to use a shower head that doesn’t pummel them with hard jets (a famous Seinfeld episode comes to mind about low-pressure shower heads). For all others, however, efficient shower heads offer the opportunity to save the average American homeowner up to 15,000 gallons of water per year, according to SimpleDollar.com. And it’s not just the water bill savings – 15,000 fewer gallons used means 15,000 fewer gallons you have to heat, which translates to significant energy savings as well. It’s the ultimate two for one.

Space heaters

(Robxtgal)

The truly frugal (and smart) realize that it it is pointless to heat an entire house if there are several rooms you are never or seldom in. Spare bedrooms, third bathrooms, and attics usually fall into this category, and nine times out of ten, money spent heating these rarely occupied spaces constitutes a waste. Instead, pick up an efficient space heater from your local hardware store. It costs far less money to just heat an auxillary area while you are actually in it than round the clock, and if you are looking for a quick way to drop your electric bill, this could be exactly what you need to get it done.

Photo: Code Arachnid

I’ll spare you the environmental lecture—Just imagine your life with out a car payment. Sounds pretty nice, right? Read on to see how you can make it a reality. Even better: you don’t have to wear spandex biking shorts.

Honestly assess the cost of a car.

Of course your ride really costs a lot more than the monthly payment automatically usurped from your checking account. AAA puts out a nifty little publication yearly (http://www.aaaexchange.com/Assets/Files/200948913570.DrivingCosts2009.pdf), and has been doing so since 1950, that helps you assess the true value of a car, factoring in fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance—all of those things that seem to sneak up and empty out your savings account. (The average total cost per year is around $8,000).

If you are more digital than analog, try using this calculator, too: http://www.commutesolutions.org/calc.htm

What most avid bikers and public transit commuters say, though, is that it is a quality-of-life issue more than a financial one—though the money saved doesn’t hurt. A heart-pumping bike ride or subway ride with a paper (minus the crushing rush hour commute in a dense place like New York) simply makes for a better start to the day than inhaling exhaust fumes from the car in front of you.

Another thought: if you are exercising by commuting, you could also ditch the gym membership, at least according to one study about “active commuting”. Basically the study showed that people who walk or bike to work are less likely to be obese and have healthier blood pressure. (The researchers said more study was needed in the field, and that working out on top of an active commute is even better than the commute alone).

Find a bike-friendly city.

Most of the protests to going car-free have to do with hometown: It seems to make sense to be carfree in bigger cities with the cache for bike lanes and congestion that demands public transportation. But, surprisingly, the League of American Bicyclists conducted a comprehensive study of American cities, small and large, (http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/pdfs/bfc_master_list_web.pdf), and square-footage, sheer size, doesn’t have much to do with bikeability. The #1 bike-friendly city in America, Davis, California is just 10.5 square miles, while the #2 bike-friendly city, Portland, Oregon, is 134.3 miles. Cedar Falls, Iowa? Tulsa, Oklahoma? Probably not at the first to come to mind when it comes to living without a car, but they’ve both recently made the bike-friendly list.

Population is also not a factor. Davis had 62,593 people in the 2008 Census, while Portland had 557,706. New York City, one the League’s list but not incredibly bike friendly, clocked in at over 8 million.

Communities are also pushing hard to promote biking, so check out the tax-dollar and charitable programs in your area. In Champaign, Illinois the Bike Project (thebikeproject.org) fixes up old clunkers and sells them on the cheap. They also offer a free class to teach people how to fix their own bikes to keep them on the road. A bike sharing program has started up in D.C. Public bikes are locked up in high traffic areas around the city. Swipe your card to unlock one, cruise for as long as your like, then drop it off at any of the docking points and you will be charged by the hour.

Choose your neighborhood wisely.

Buying or renting within a few miles of work may seem far fetched to some people, especially those in sprawling Sunbelt cities like Atlanta or Houston, but new zoning laws are looking to reverse that trend, for better or worse. Tax breaks are given in Atlanta and many other cities for new developments that are “mixed use,” meaning that homes and businesses are under one roof.

Also, a study published in August called Walk the Walk (http://blog.walkscore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WalkingTheWalk_CEOsforCities.pdf) shows that the so-called walkability of a city increases home values. Walkability here is defined by the social and shopping destinations that you don’t need a car to get to. The study ultimately found that, “Houses with the above-average levels of walkability command a premium of about $4,000 to $34,000 over houses with just average levels of walkability in the typical metropolitan areas studied”.

Consider going half-car.

No matter how many pains you go to trying to find the right place to work and live, there are going to be things that you don’t want to lug on the bike or bus, like, say, a Christmas tree or your weekly load of groceries. Clever car sharing companies, like Zipcar, are looking to capitalize on exactly that need for carless people. (http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/26/news/companies/zipcar_car_rentals.fortune/)

The idea is elegantly simple: Become a Zipcar member. When you need a ride, use an iPhone app or computer to find that closest Zipcar to you, which you reserve online. When you approach the car, touch your membership card to the window and the doors unlock automatically. The keys are inside, as is a gas card, and you are charged one flat rate per hour, about $8, depending on the city. Park the car in your hood and the process starts over.

As of January 1, 2009, Susan Sheehan of the University of California at Berkeley found that 24 car sharing programs in the United States has 309,437 members, definitely qualifying it as a trend that extends beyond one brilliant business idea. (In Canada, 15 organizations had 46,802 members).

Photo:uniinnsbruck

Whether you are heading to school for the first time or going back for another year, you’ll quickly have to face a sad paradox. College is expensive and students are perpetually broke. Forget tuition and room and board, the cost of textbooks, software, transportation, and just about everything else is enough to put any aspiring student into debt. It’s almost like there is a target on your back (or your wallet). Rather than sit back and let the debt pile up, try these four simple cost savings strategies to save thousands annually.

Photo:psychobabble

1. Stop Buying, and Start Renting your Textbooks.

Remember those $150 textbooks that you skim through once out of guilt or fear? Every time I went through the checkout line I held deep-seeded resentment about paying outrageous sums for textbooks that I would barely use and then end up selling back to the bookstore at the end of the semester at a fraction of the price I paid for them. You would think that having three different bookstores on campus would result in competitive pricing, only to find that they were all charging the same obscene price right down to the penny.

Studies show that the average student spends over $900 per year on textbooks. But you may not have to anymore. There are now a number of textbook rental sites that claim to offer up to 70% or more off of retail price to rent textbooks for a semester. For starters, you may want to check out Bookrenter, Chegg, and Campus Book Rentals. Additionally, you may be able to find used versions of your books on Amazon, Abebooks, or Ebay. A little competition in the marketplace is a beautiful thing.

Average Savings: At 50% off – $450 per year

2. Ditch the Office!

At some point, we’ve all had to write a paper, present to a class, or use a spreadsheet for a math project. Yes, we’ve all needed to use an office software suite and if you go the Microsoft route when purchasing software, you’ll end up paying approximately $120 for Office 2007.

That’s one option. Fortunately, there are a few other options these days:
Open Office: Powered by Sun Microsystems, Open Office is an open source office software suite that is nearly identical to Microsoft Office. The best part is that the full suite is available for a free download at Openoffice.org. You are even able to share your files in Microsoft office program formats if you need to share them with others.

GoogleDocs: GoogleDocs is a suite of “cloud-based” word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications. Although the features aren’t quite up to par with MS Office or Open Office, the programs let you collaborate with others and can import and export into other formats. This makes it a great option when working on projects with other students in real (or delayed) time.

Best of all, they’re free.

Together, these two free options should be more than sufficient in meeting all of your document needs.

Average Savings: $120 per Office version

Photo:Ihoon

3. Rolling Down the Street – In a Bus.

Before the macho types lynch me for suggesting that they give up an opportunity to impress their sorority dream woman, here is a difficult to hear truism: the right date will not only care less that you take the bus versus riding around campus in an SUV, but they may actually respect and like you more for it.

Even if you’re able to find a modest used vehicle at $200/month, you will probably need to add at least another $100 or more per month for insurance and fuel. Additionally, you will be able to avoid all of those extremely frustrating parking tickets (how do they always find you??). In contrast, a search for my alma mater’s bus system yielded a semester-long bus pass for a mere $50.

Average Savings: $2,600 (for a $200/month vehicle with $100/month in insurance and fuel expenses)

Photo:Editor B

4. Open a Local Bank or Credit Union Checking Account.

Even as we trend more towards a plastic society, ATM fees for college students can add up quickly. If you’re attending a school out-of-state or even just out-of-region, your bank or credit union may not have authorized ATM’s. Starting up a free checking account for these petty cash transactions can be a huge money saver.

In 2008, the average cost of using another bank’s ATM was $3.43 per transaction, up 13% from 2007. Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon for students to make at least one or two ATM withdrawals per week. Avoid this unnecessary expense!

Average Savings: $110 annually (1 withdrawal per week)

What tips do you have for savings money while attending school?

For more of GE Miller’s writing, visit personal finance blog 20somethingfinance.com.

Today I’m going to show you how to generate an extra $200/month, which you can use for savings, investments, or even spend it on something you love. But I’m going to challenge you to put aside some assumptions:

• Myth #1: We need to track ALL of our spending to save money by keeping a budget. Not true. By focusing on your two biggest discretionary expenses and relentlessly cutting them down, you reduce the Paradox of Choice and limit the overwhelming number of choices we each have every day.
• Myth #2: “There’s no WAY I can save $200/month!” Maybe, maybe not. Many people waste 20-30% of their money without ever knowing where it goes. But even if you can’t save $200, perhaps you can save $150. Or $100. Or $50. The point is not the exact amount, but the process of optimizing your financial system. (And it can be done: Thousands of my readers took the challenge to save $1,000/month.)

Every day, we wake up and have 50 financial to-dos we can tackle. Should we pay off debt or increase our 401(k) contribution? Should we adjust our asset allocation or try to get a side job? Ultimately, those choices become overwhelming and we invariably do the same thing: nothing.

Today, I’m going to show you how to focus on two areas — just two — and relentlessly cut down on them to generate significant savings. While your friends worry about 50 things (like saving a paltry $4 on lattes), I’ll show you the system I use to save hundreds of dollars each month on just a couple of expenses — letting me spend time on the important things in life.

How most people manage their money

We love to believe that more information is always better. But as behavioral psychologists have discovered, more choices are not always better. In fact, they can paralyze us with indecision. Barry Schwartz writes about this in The Paradox of Choice:

…for every ten mutual funds offered by the employer, the rate of participation went down 2%.

There are hundreds of examples in the behavioral-psychology literature of increased choice leading us to paralysis by analysis. This is why humans use stereotypes and heuristics to deal with complexity: because to systematically analyze, consider, and act on every decision we face every day would be overwhelming. This is not about being smart or stupid — it’s about adaptive human behavior.

So, what does this mean for your finances?

It means you should focus on fewer, more important things. And despite the personal-finance “experts” who have cried out for us to keep a budget for the last 50 years — has that ever worked? — I prefer to use techniques that actually work. I recommend you figure out your two biggest discretionary expenses…and then crush them and save hundreds of dollars per month.

I call this The Two-Headed Savings Approach.

The Two-Headed Savings Approach: How to use save $200/month by focusing on LESS

1. Pick the two most important areas that you need to save on. You know what they are — the ones where you overspend and it’s clear you could be spending less. For me, these are (1) eating out and (2) going out.

2. Figure out how much you spend on these areas. If you don’t already have a free Mint account, go there and import your transactions. It will take about 10 minutes to tell you how much you’re spending in any category. Remember — although this is the least-sexy part of the tip, without knowing how much you’re spending, how can you set a target for savings?

3. Pick a savings number that you want to target within 6 months. I recommend you try to reduce the costs by 25% to 33%. Those numbers are guidelines, but I’ve found that range to work well because it allows me to cut costs in a significant way while not completely depriving myself. So if you’re spending $1,000 in one category, cut it to $750. If you’re spending $200, cut it to $150 — over 6 months. Rather than trying to cut 50% of your spending in 1 month, it’s important to set smaller goals and actually achieve them

4. Set up a spending reminder to help you keep track. You can do this the low-tech way or the high-tech way.

Recommended way: If you already use Mint, click “Overview” >> “Add Budget” and enter your target savings number. If you’re over the targeted amount, Mint will automatically notify you.

Low-tech way: But maybe you don’t use Mint — no problem. Just set a calendar reminder for each Sunday to make sure you’re on track. For example, if your target spending on eating out is $375/month, that’s about $94/week. Each Sunday, just log in to make sure you’re roughly on track.

If you are, great!

If not, you know you need to cut spending in the coming week.

This way, you can consistently correct any overspending and hit your target goal.

Example: You want to cut down on eating out

Let’s say your current spending on eating out: $500/month.

Target: I want to save $125 per month, so my spending should eventually be $375/month. ($500 * 0.25 = $125. $500 – $125 = $375)
Month 2: $450/month

Month 3: $420/month

Month 4: $425/month (notice you can still hit your goals even if you don’t consistently go down each month)

Month 5: $385/month

Month 6: $375/month

You’ve just saved $125/month, which is $1,500/year. And that’s just for one head of the Two-Headed Savings Approach. Do the same for eating out, and that’s $3,000 per year. You’re now generating $250/month in cash flow that can be used to invest or save.

Invest that $250/month for 20 years and you’ll end up with around $143,000 cash (run your own calculations). Is it worth it?

The keys to the Two-Headed Savings Approach

• Don’t try to do everything at once. Nobody can manage saving money on 15 categories — you just spread yourself too thin and don’t even make a serious dent in your savings amount. I’d rather save 30% on two areas than 5% on 10.
• Why a 2-headed approach? Why not just one? I learned this from a professor at Stanford, who told me to always be working on two projects at work, so if one stalled, you’d still be moving forward on something else. Sometimes, you may have unexpected expenses come up: If you’re saving on eating out, and a friend comes to visit from out of town, it’s going to be tough to keep your costs down. But if you have two savings tracks going on in parallel, you’ll still be able to make progress on your overall goals. And because you’ve extended the timeline out to 6 months, you’ll probably be able to get back on track.
• Slow down. When people come to me and tell me they’ve cut their spending on clothes from $500/month to $10/month, I just sigh and stare at them, blinking in unwavering hatred. You can’t make rapid behavioral change that stick in such a dramatic way. I’d rather extend it out, slowly, over six months and guarantee that you stick with the savings amount. I’ve written more about this here: Set Smaller Goals, Impress Friends, Get Girls, Lose Weight. You’ll see how you can apply this approach to virtually anything that requires behavioral change.
• Stop feeling guilty! Forget about those $1 bags of Skittles you buy or $4 lattes. By focusing on the Big Wins, you’re saving significant amounts of money. As long as you’re hitting your savings goals, that’s the most important thing. Note: The biggest wins typically come from subscriptions, like cable. If you can cut $30/month off cable, that’s roughly $400/year. (How? Use the A La Carte Method.)
• This is a good example of being goal-oriented. Instead of randomly trying to save on expenses, by setting a goal, your tactics become very clear. If your four friends ask you out to dinner and you’re behind in your savings goals, you can easily say, “Sorry guys, but I’m trying to save money and I’ve got to skip this one. But I can meet you afterwards.” In other words, when it comes to dealing with others, focus on the plan and not the person — and work within the savings system that you’ve created.
• Now that you’re going to be saving $20, $200, or even $1,000/month, make sure you put that money somewhere where you won’t spend it. I recommend you store it in your savings account and consider investing part of it for long-term growth. Whatever you do, don’t leave this new-found money in your checking account.

Lots of people wonder what they would do with a 5% or 10% raise. By implementing this, you’ve just gotten yourself a significant raise. What will you do with the extra cash flow each month?

The Two-Headed Savings Approach is one part of the bulletproof financial system that I outline in my book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Ramit Sethi is the New York Times best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He writes at http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com.

Photo: tannazie

Dining out is one of the great pleasures in life. Fine food, great drinks, a meal with friends and the next thing you know you’re loosening your belt. But with a troubled economy everyone is tightening their belts. You can still enjoy dining out, even on a budget. Do you know the best days and meals for making the most of your dollar? How to find a credit card that rewards you for restaurant dining? What site offers you rebate checks just for making reservations? Check out our smorgasbord of top tips for saving money when you do dine in restaurants.

1. 1. Find discount deals. Sites like Restaurant.com offer gift certificates for less than face value. Just make sure you’re getting a discount somewhere you want to eat, otherwise it’s like those uncomfortable shoes you bought on sale and never wear. No bargain.
2. 2. Use an online booking agent like OpenTable. You’ll get a rebate or thank you check for doing something you do anyway, making reservations. You’ll also find special promotions that will earn you rewards faster by dining at certain slower times.
3. 3. Some credit cards give you a bonus or rebate on restaurant purchases, decide which ones make the most sense and then use them as much as you can. Mint.com can help you with unbiased recommendations based on your personal spending.
4. 4. Go out for lunch. Sometimes the prices on the lunch menu are a fraction of what you’ll pay at dinner for almost the same thing.
5. 5. Watch what you drink! Restaurants make a larger margin on beverages than they do on food. Do you really need that bottled water or cocktail?
6. 6. Eat less. Smaller appetite? Try choosing a salad, side dish or appetizer. Let your waiter know you are looking for something on the light side, you just don’t want to end up with something so small that you end up ordering a huge dessert.
7. 7. Share dessert. Speaking of huge desserts, you may have noticed that dessert prices and sizes have steadily grown larger. Find a partner and be sure to ask for two spoons.
8. 8. Share a large entree or take half of it home for tomorrow’s lunch. The best way to do this is to visually divide your plate in portions before you start eating. If you plan on taking it home, order something that reheats well such as soup, stew or a braised dish and skip delicate foods like salad or seafood.
9. 9. Have a snack! You know what happens if you go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. Likewise if you go out to dinner ravenous you’re likely to order too much. If you skip lunch, you’ll also be tempted to order too much.
10. 10. Eat out on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, the slowest days of the week for restaurants. You’ll be much more likely to find special deals and offers, not to mention a quieter more relaxing dining experience.
11. 11. Look for early bird or prix fixe specials. Now more than ever restaurants are looking for your business and offering special promotions. Often a three course meals is just a few dollars more than the cost of one expensive entree.
12. 12. Use a coupon. Local coupon books like the Entertainment book offers hundreds of 2-for-1 and 50% off coupons for all kinds of restaurants. If you like fine dining, find a friend who likes fast food and share the cost of the book. The online version of this book may be a great deal if you are planning to travel. There is no long-term commitment, you can choose any location you wish, and the print the coupons you want for only $4.95 a month.
13. 13. BYOB. If you have a nice bottle of wine at home, look for restaurants that offer reasonable corkage fees. Just be sure you are not bringing a bottle that is on the restaurant wine list. Some restaurants offer free corkage if you buy one bottle. With a group, this is a great way to save.
14. 14. Cut a coupon. Don’t forget those coupons that come in the mail! Valpak offers coupons online as well. Be sure to do a quick search before heading off on vacation.
15. 15. Eat at the bar. Dying to try that expensive new restaurant that just opened to rave reviews? See if they have a bar menu. You may be able to get a taste of what’s being served in the dining room for much less.

.michael.newman.

Envy those savvy grocery shoppers that come armed with coupons and always seem to know exactly what’s on sale and what to buy where? Here are 9 ways to help save money on your monthly grocery bill, most of them as easy on the environment as they are on your wallet.

1. Buy lettuce by the head, not by the bag or box. OK, so it may actually take you all of three minutes to cut, wash and dry a head of lettuce compared to buying the pre-washed bag or box, but on average you will save about $3.50-$4.50 for the exact same amount of lettuce. It’s also better for the environment (not as much plastic being used) and you probably want to wash the lettuce anyway, regardless of whether or not it’s in a bag or box. The lettuce will also be fluffier and fresher.

2. Buy your milk (& orange juice) from a convenience store rather than the grocery store. This may vary depending on where you live, but where I am a gallon of milk in the grocery store (store brand) is about $3.19-3.75 and in the convenience store it is only $2.49. That may not seem like much of a difference, but every little bit helps and in my house (with two kids, four people total) we go through about 4 gallons a week. That equates to a savings of $22.50 per month! Orange juice is also cheaper as a half gallon is typically $3.50-3.99 at the grocery store and only $2.50 at the convenience store.

3. Don’t buy perishables in bulk, unless you will use them. Every time I buy a five pound bag of potatoes I use about one and a half pounds and the rest grows arms before I get to eat it. I could have saved around $2.00-3.00 had I just bought the four potatoes I ate rather than the big bag that got tossed.

4. You can also buy celery, carrots, and other veggies in singles. Just as in point #3, if you don’t need an entire bag of celery sticks, don’t buy the whole bag. Most grocery stores have a separate section where you can buy carrots, celery and other vegetables in any quantity. If you only need one stick of carrot and one celery for a soup you are making, you can just buy one of each for a fraction of the cost of an entire bag.

5. Prepare your vegetables yourself. I know it is tempting to buy the pre-chopped onions, peppers, and zucchini, but it is a high price to pay to save five minutes of your time. You will save anywhere from $2.00-5.00 cutting your own vegetables. If time is a factor, my advice is to prepare all your vegetables ahead of time (I usually do it after I get home from grocery shopping). Place the vegetables in tupperware (not plastic bags) and add a crumbled up paper towel. The paper towel will absorb the moisture, thus leading to longer shelf life, and your vegetables will be ready to go when you need them.

6. Don’t buy watered-down juice. If you’re a savvy mom or dad (or at least a health-conscious one) and you have heard that your kids should reduce their juice intake, that’s great! Many companies are cashing in on this and are selling juices that are watered-down. So you are paying the same amount as the regular juice (whether in a bottle or in a juice-box), but you are getting half the juice and tap water that comes free right from your faucet. In other words, the companies are making twice as much money off of you! Buy 100% juice (in its entirety) and mix it with water at home. You will save around $2.75 to $4.99.

7. Don’t buy bottled water. In case you haven’t heard, most bottled water is tap water. The only difference is you pay $1.50 per 20 oz. if it comes in a plastic container. Drink more water from your faucet, it really is the same quality (it may even be better!). You will be doing your wallet and the environment a big favor! If your town water is questionable, you can always buy a water filter for your faucet. A much more economical answer to filtered water. If you only drank one 20 oz. bottle of water a day, this would save you $45 per month. And of course you need at least three times that.

8. Always look through the flyer and ask the deli clerk, butcher, etc, to see if anything is on sale. I know I have made the mistake of going to the deli counter, asking for the same meat I always get, just to find out a competing brand is on sale that week for $2.00-3.00 less per pound.

9. Try to shop at the same store. When you know a store’s layout, you spend less. You’re familiar with the products they carry and spend less time looking for things. In contrast, when you shop in places you aren’t familiar you tend to “look” more and thus buy more because you notice items you haven’t seen but want to try. On average, whenever I venture out to a “new” store, I spend $30 more than normal.

Now, if you make every change I just mentioned (on estimate) you would save about $170 per month!

Kimberly Bither, M.S., CPFT is a Nutritionist, Fitness Trainer, and
Writer at KimberlyFitness.com.

Foxtongue

If you’ve just received the news that you’re pregnant, one thing’s for sure, life as you know it is over. But that’s a good thing. The joys of parenthood far outweigh the cons but you’ll need a solid financial plan if you hope to make it through the next nine months.

So after you’ve shared the news with your parents and 500 of your closest friends on Facebook, you’d better start thinking about how this is going to affect your wallet.

You want the best for your family of course but who should you listen to? When it comes to giving new parents advice, suddenly it seems everyone is an expert: don’t get this brand of diapers, make sure to get that kind of car seat, don’t rush to get the baby the first time it cries, and so forth. The good news is that you will have nearly nine months to prepare your home. Make sure to use a few of those hours to get your financial house in order too. Both are about to go through major changes.

No matter your fiscal discipline, there’s about to be another mouth to feed. Many couples will want or need to move into a bigger space. The extent of many of your baby-related expenses will be controllable, as your and your partner’s expenses are today. However, even with maximum restraint, you’ll still be walking down new grocery aisles and visiting new stores, ultimately spending money on products and services you never considered previously.

If you’re financially unprepared for your new baby, you could end up financing diapers. Here are the top 5 things you should do when you’re expecting:

Tip 1: Communicate With Your Partner

The theoretical conversations you may have had a few times previously will now become real. Decisions will have to be made. Nothing should be assumed, Talk about them.

• Will one of you stay home? If so, for how long? Things may change. That’s okay.
• Could all of you live on just one income? If you think so, what makes you so confident? Have you ever done so before?

Tip 2: Live Within Your Means

It’s as important as ever to make sure to live within your means. Resist the temptation to use your new arrival as an excuse to purchase things you can’t afford and don’t really need. If you have a car with four doors and four tires, you already have a “family car.” Your apartment or existing abode is probably big enough to accommodate the baby. Try to put off a major move for as long as possible. Not everything has to fit the stereotype. Spend on what’s important to you within the constraints of what you can actually afford.

Tip 3: Establish An Emergency Fund Now

If you haven’t already done so, there’s no time like the present to establish an emergency fund. The traditional three to six months sounds like a lot. It is a lot. But it’s better to have some money socked away for this purpose than none at all. Do what is possible. Remember you’re trying to set aside three to six months of non-discretionary living expenses only, not your full monthly income. If you aspire to have one partner stay at home for an extended period, one easy way to enhance your emergency fund is to practice living on one income while both spouses are still working.

Job security still have you feeling confident you’ll never need to tap an emergency fund?  It’s not just about your job.  When you first hold your baby in a few months, it will be so obvious- there’s another person in the picture now.  The more people in the family, the greater chance there is for some kind of emergency. Be prepared.

Tip 4: Get Life Insurance

Many young adults without children can actually spend their money more wisely than on life insurance. That concept changes immediately upon conception. Now, someone will be depending on your income for years to come. You’ll need to be sure that if something unfortunate happens to you, your child can still maintain the lifestyle you’ve been providing. Only life insurance can provide that financial security.

Tip 5: Sign Up for the Health Care Reimbursement Account at Work

Also known as a flexible spending account (FSA), this account requiring minor paperwork can effectively save you 25% or more (depending on your tax rate) on your medical expenses. When you’re expecting, you’re going to have big medical bills, including pre-natal care and delivery.

Your next annual enrollment date presents the perfect chance to increase your contribution rate to reflect your new medical spending and to reduce your after-tax costs in the process. If you won’t reach an enrollment date prior to delivery, remember that your child’s birth constitutes a “life event” and will give you a special one-time opportunity to increase your contribution rate.

Be prepared, don’t overspend, and remember that what really matters is not the brand, design, or expense of your child’s bedding, stroller, or Onesie, but rather your love and care for them.

Michael B. Rubin is the author of Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck and the blog of the same name. He is the President of Total Candor, a financial planning education company.

°Florian

A long-standing, not-so-secret mantra for the most efficient and effective people is “saving time via the delegation of tasks = saved money”. Optimizing the use of your time and focusing on your most high-value strengths not only allows you to reduce the hectic payload on your life but potentially allows you to increase income and stockpile more money.

The old-school formula associated with this particular delegation of tasks typically involves the outsourcing of daily chores: cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, baby-sitting, picking the kids up from karate, and the like. However, with the advancements in communications and the proliferation of online job marketplaces like Craigslist, Elance, and Guru.com, the number of tasks that can now be entrusted to others has grown on an immeasurable scale.

For example: You’re living the life of an up-and-coming, stay-at-home entrepreneur running a hectic and sometimes chaotic one-man operation. Business is flourishing, yet you’re spending more time than you would like to on the phone fielding calls that could potentially be huge sales or absolute wastes of time. You’re working late hours just to catch up with every voice mail, email, and IM that is targeted at you, and dealing with this heavy influx of communication isn’t just stealing your time, it’s introducing a never-ending bundle of stress right on your shoulders.

Jonathan Fleming, a solo real estate agent, was caught in a pretty similar situation. However, instead of spending the time to answer each individual call, he optimizes his time through hiring a “virtual assistant” to handle all inbound calls, emails, and other communication. Jonathan’s contractor organizes and presents all of the potential sales leads in a summarized fashion for him to view at his leisure so that more of his time is spent showing property, negotiating prices, and closing deals.

“When people call me from seeing my signs, I dump the voicemails and emails into a database that my VA sorts and summarizes for me. She set up an Oracle database where I can remotely log in and access all the info I need when I am traveling. She can pretty much work with any type of system – she’s able to learn fast… 70% of my time is selling/showing property/negotiating versus responding to every email… Elance could change how most real estate agents work. Currently, assistants sit in an agent’s office or the agents spend time doing the admin stuff themselves. Working with a VA saves time and money, gets you leads and allows you to focus on selling and acquiring customers.”

But don’t limit your thinking to just administrative help. In fact, there are literally tens of thousands of experts who are ready to help with your marketing, research, writing, programming, software development, translations — pretty much anything and everything that you’re, well, not good at or don’t want to do yourself.

Now, before you click on the “Outsource Life Now” button, there are a few things to consider when deciding what should and should not be delegated to others. Diana Dring of organizeyourworld.com tackles this through four points:

First, keep track of all your activities and prioritize them. These activities usually fall in four categories: Priorities, obligations, desirable but unnecessary tasks, and time wasters.
Be sure to do this over an extended period of time – at least one or two weeks, but preferably longer. This will give you a quick snapshot of your daily and weekly routines and will give you a general overview of how you spend your time. You’d be surprised how much time you spend in front of the TV.

Second, analyze the reasons why you do these tasks yourself now. Exercise, recreational sports, or palates? Staying in shape and having some fun at the same time is great for your health and well-being. Errands like grocery shopping, dry cleaning, and even email handling? You’re probably doing this just because “you have to”.

Third, ask yourself this for each activity: “Could a subordinate, family member, freelancer, or service agency do this job adequately?” As Diana Dring states in her guide, “The key word is adequately… striving for perfection is usually a waste of time. ‘Ordinary best’ is typically good enough… On the other hand, after training and practice, your delegate may actually be able to surpass you at the job.” That’s something to think about when perusing through your list.

And fourth, if you’ve determined your job can be delegated, determine to whom it can be delegated to. Having someone to perform your delegated tasks isn’t enough – make sure the shoe fits before walking out of the store. Hiring someone with a horrible driving record isn’t the best idea when looking for someone to pick your kids after school. Trust me.

These all may seem blatantly obvious, but they’re all crucial steps in effectively deciding what can and should be outsourced. Once you’ve got it down, you’ll be spending more time doing what you should be doing and leaving the rest to the respective pros.

So the next time you’re pressing “7″ a hundred times to delete yet another hundred voice mails, ask yourself, “How much is an hour of my time really worth?”

Giving yourself more time to focus on your high-value strengths doesn’t just boost your cash reserves; it gives you more time to be what you really want to be: An efficient, focused, well-seasoned professional.

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Alex Yoon is a guest-blogger from Elance. You can read more of his advice on outsourcing on the Elance Blog.

Source: dugspr — in Osaka

Let’s face it, you can’t help but notice that organic and natural foods cost a lot more…or do they? It really all depends on where you shop, what you buy, and how savvy you are when it comes to food. Here are 15 ways to help you eat more whole, natural foods for less $$.

Natural Food Rules to Shop By:

1. Discover Trader Joe’s. Although their food is not all organic, it is mostly natural and made with whole food. They are very inexpensive and carry a small, but wide variety of items. If you are looking to buy foods made without trans fats, HFCS, or artificial ingredients, but don’t want to spend a lot, look no further than the nearest Trader Joe’s.

2. Learn how to shop Whole Foods effectively. If you visit a place like Whole Foods, you’ll notice all kinds of gourmet foods, but you will also notice the arm-and-a-leg prices. You can shop smart in Whole Foods if you know some tricks.

a. Only buy their store brand, 365. It will cost you about the same as the conventional versions found in your typical grocery store.

b. Their chicken and turkey is fairly reasonably priced (equivalent to Perdue), but their fish and beef is expensive. Instead, look at your local grocery store for seafood, but check to make sure that it is wild and not farm raised, and you will save a lot of money and still get good fish. In MA there’s Big Y and they carry frozen, wild caught fish (their natural brand is called Full Circle) in vacuum packed bags which are great. As for beef, it’s best to limit eating it to only a few times a month, anyway. It’s up to you whether or not you think the organic is better. Again, Big Y also carries Full Circle beef as well as natural deli meats. Check your local grocery store to see if they carry a Natural/Organic Line of meats.

c. Don’t do major grocery shopping in a place like Whole Foods, stick to a few items that are exclusive to the store that you really want. For example, if you have young children you might buy a lot of cereal there. The cereal is kid-approved, but without anything artificial. And the natural, kid-friendly cereals are much cheaper at Whole Foods than at the regular grocery store.

3. When shopping for deli meats, choose the store-baked meats (and don’t buy these from a place like Whole Foods; way too expensive). They typically have the least amount of preservatives and taste the best. No need to buy organic. Also get your deli meats fresh cut and not in prepackaged containers. You will save at least 50% by waiting in line with your little paper ticket.

4. Don’t buy organic boxed items from a regular grocery store – (unless it is a store-brand). Get them from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (or equivalent). They will actually be cheaper as it is their specialty.

5. Remember, if you give your fruits and veggies a thorough washing in soap and water, you can wash away most chemical residue. If you are still concerned, a good rule of thumb is to buy organic if you will be eating the exterior, but if you eat only what is inside, you can get away with conventional.

6. Remember, natural food means natural. So think of simple ingredients and you can’t go wrong. Usually what makes groceries so expensive is when you pay for boxing, packaging and processing (or pre-making). If you make more foods at home, it will be cheaper and healthier.

7. Except for milk, a little juice, and maybe some seltzer, don’t waste money on too many bottled beverages. You can make iced tea or iced coffee at home and drink more water. Save your money (& your calories) for food.

8. There are many non-organic foods that are very nutritious. Don’t think you need to buy organic, you don’t. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are always just as nutritious, organic does NOT make any food more nutritious, it just usually means it has less chemicals. There is a difference. In other words, a conventional orange and an organic orange have about the same amount of vitamins & minerals. There are also many non-organic products such as Raisin Bran, Chex, or Shredded Wheat which are full of nutrition and can be bought at low prices as they usually come in store brand. As for crackers, I like Trisquits. They have three ingredients; whole wheat, oil, and salt. Goldfish crackers are actually pretty good, too, just stay away from the ones with food coloring (just in case…)

9. A chip is a chip and a cookie is a cookie. Whether or not it is organic, a chip is still a chip; a fried potato with seasoning. Don’t waste your money on any “high-fat” food such as these that come in an organic version. It’s just not worth it. These are foods that should be eaten sparingly, anyway, so a small amount won’t make a difference.

10. You don’t need to buy organic frozen meals. All frozen meals are high in salt and that is typically the big offender for frozen meals. Regardless of whether or not they are organic, they will still have a high salt content. Limit your frozen meals, they aren’t really healthy.

11. Many regular grocery stores are now offering a store-brand line of natural products. These are usually cheaper than if you bought a similar product at a place like Whole Foods and are essentially the same products.

12. Don’t buy more than you need. Plan out your meals for the week and make up a grocery list. Keep a running list of what you need on a dry erase board in your kitchen. Separate each food group so you don’t miss anything. I bring a list with me that is broken down into dairy, frozen, canned, produce, meat, and non-food. It helps!

13. See what you can find at Costco/Sam’s Club/BJ’s. Costco now sells whole grain pasta and other healthy food products. As long as the food isn’t perishable, there is no harm in buying ahead to save some money.

14. Don’t feel you need to shop at three different stores every week to save money. Try to go to your specialty stores (Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc…) once a month and stock up (that’s what freezers are for). The less often you shop…the less you spend.

15. If you can, join a local food coop. You will get fresh fruits and vegetables (sometimes meats), from local farmers at a great rate.

Kimberly Bither, M.S., CPFT is a Nutritionist, Fitness Trainer, and
Writer at KimberlyFitness.com.